Suggest me an author who’s worth reading through their entire work.
For my resolution this year I’d like to read through a single author’s entire work (going deep rather than wide). Who do you think is worth this investment?
It really depends on what you enjoy reading, I suppose. I read all of William S Burroughs but he’s not for everyone lol. I’ve read most of David Sedaris and Tom Robbins.
drdon1996 on
Cathryn Grant if you like psychological suspense
bunkerbear68 on
So far I’ve enjoyed every book by Sarah Waters, Raymond Chandler, Kate Atkinson, and Kent Haruf. Their work amount not so extensive as some others but I love the quality of each.
iustusflorebit on
Dostoyevsky, John Milton
Day32JustAMyrKat on
Ann Patchett
clep_sydre on
A tricky one because some stuff has been lost, or never translated from German, but Stefan Zweig. He wrote a lot of short stories or novellas, which can be fun to read here and there between other books. He also has written biographies of historical figures or authors (probably not the most reliables you’ll find, but he writes extremely well) and an autobiography.
UnderstandingFit3009 on
Le Carre.
flappingumbrella on
George Eliot, hands down — assuming you like the classics.
Ok-Cheetah-9125 on
What are your favorite genres?
MooseComprehensive65 on
My two favorite to recommend are Kurt Vonnegut and Don DeLillo. Both have hefty catalogs, but they are doable.
PatchworkGirl82 on
I’ve loved everything by LM Montgomery, Daphne Du Maurier, Fannie Flagg, and Terry Pratchett
Fountain-Script on
I’d recommend John Steinbeck because you can vary between short stories, novellas, travelogues, diaries and the “big ones” like East of Eden or Grapes of Wrath.
Lady_Hazy on
Taylor Jenkins Reid is my ‘guaranteed good read’ author. I’ve nearly read all of her books and she doesn’t disappoint. I’ve joked that she could write about the sh*t on my shoe and I’d be there for it!
I also really like John Marrs and have read most of his books. Some are not as strong as others, but they’re ultimately very dark, twisty and entertaining.
Sensitive-Manner2744 on
Percival Everett. Colm Toibin.
BudgetPrestigious704 on
Louise Penney
PerhentianBC on
John Steinbeck
e-m-o-o on
James Baldwin
teahousenerd on
Daphne Du Maurier
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ann Patchett
David Mitchell
Lauren Groff ( except one novel)
Roald Dahl
SF – China Mieville ( depends) and Michael Crichton , Ted Chiang has only 2 books I think both are amazing, if he writes a novel I am in.
And of course Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyale ( the obvious answers ).
( My top favs with rich body of works don’t write in English, so I am not mentioning )
denys1973 on
Stephen King, but you’re very unlikely to be able to read all his books in one year
BernieBurnington on
Charles Portis
WakingOwl1 on
John Steinbeck
Louise Erdrich
Russell Banks
MontEcola on
Barbara Kingsolver
Cormac McCarthy
Ivan Doig
Annie Proulx
Robert Frost
OK, each one of the above has at least one thing I found a bit hard to continue with. You will not find those on the library shelves easily, and you will not find them on the bookstore shelves.
jackaloper on
Terry Pratchett
Ben Aaronovich
Hemingway
mano-beppo on
Kurt Vonnegut.
BonBon4564 on
Bill Bryson. Very funny man, great researcher.
chinpunkanpun on
Ursula K Le Guin. For the depth and breadth of her style, the genres covered, the possibility to read both fiction and non-fiction, and a career spanning decades (I think), which allows you to experience the development in her ideas. Sorry, that was terribly expressed (I’m crazy tired), but hopefully it piques your interest!
Ealinguser on
George Eliot, Jane Austen, Mrs Gaskell.
Artistic_Regard on
I have not read everything from these authors, but I’m making my way through them and they haven’t disappointed me yet.
John Steinbeck, Shirley Jackson, Philip K Dick
cookiequeen724 on
Toni Morrison
Gaazhagensikwe on
Armistead Maupin. The entire *Tales of The City* books got me through cancer.
**Edited to say:** Tana French. Not only the Dublin Murder Squad books, but also *The Searcher* and *The Hunter.*
Ancient_Storm818 on
Iris Murdoch
dem676 on
Austen would be easy. Dickens maybe?
The novels of Kazuo Ishiguro
LukeSkywalkerDog on
Shirley Jackson.
bluegenes98 on
More recent but Becky Chambers! Her sci fi is full of cozy vibes and I find the world building really great and approachable
eilsel827583 on
Colson Whitehead
Kazuo Ishiguro
There are a couple more I’m not thinking of, but those authors write in various genres and try different things, so it keeps it interesting.
37 Comments
Agatha Christie would be a fun one.
Patrick O’Brian
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2%80%93Maturin_series
It really depends on what you enjoy reading, I suppose. I read all of William S Burroughs but he’s not for everyone lol. I’ve read most of David Sedaris and Tom Robbins.
Cathryn Grant if you like psychological suspense
So far I’ve enjoyed every book by Sarah Waters, Raymond Chandler, Kate Atkinson, and Kent Haruf. Their work amount not so extensive as some others but I love the quality of each.
Dostoyevsky, John Milton
Ann Patchett
A tricky one because some stuff has been lost, or never translated from German, but Stefan Zweig. He wrote a lot of short stories or novellas, which can be fun to read here and there between other books. He also has written biographies of historical figures or authors (probably not the most reliables you’ll find, but he writes extremely well) and an autobiography.
Le Carre.
George Eliot, hands down — assuming you like the classics.
What are your favorite genres?
My two favorite to recommend are Kurt Vonnegut and Don DeLillo. Both have hefty catalogs, but they are doable.
I’ve loved everything by LM Montgomery, Daphne Du Maurier, Fannie Flagg, and Terry Pratchett
I’d recommend John Steinbeck because you can vary between short stories, novellas, travelogues, diaries and the “big ones” like East of Eden or Grapes of Wrath.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is my ‘guaranteed good read’ author. I’ve nearly read all of her books and she doesn’t disappoint. I’ve joked that she could write about the sh*t on my shoe and I’d be there for it!
I also really like John Marrs and have read most of his books. Some are not as strong as others, but they’re ultimately very dark, twisty and entertaining.
Percival Everett. Colm Toibin.
Louise Penney
John Steinbeck
James Baldwin
Daphne Du Maurier
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ann Patchett
David Mitchell
Lauren Groff ( except one novel)
Roald Dahl
SF – China Mieville ( depends) and Michael Crichton , Ted Chiang has only 2 books I think both are amazing, if he writes a novel I am in.
And of course Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyale ( the obvious answers ).
( My top favs with rich body of works don’t write in English, so I am not mentioning )
Stephen King, but you’re very unlikely to be able to read all his books in one year
Charles Portis
John Steinbeck
Louise Erdrich
Russell Banks
Barbara Kingsolver
Cormac McCarthy
Ivan Doig
Annie Proulx
Robert Frost
OK, each one of the above has at least one thing I found a bit hard to continue with. You will not find those on the library shelves easily, and you will not find them on the bookstore shelves.
Terry Pratchett
Ben Aaronovich
Hemingway
Kurt Vonnegut.
Bill Bryson. Very funny man, great researcher.
Ursula K Le Guin. For the depth and breadth of her style, the genres covered, the possibility to read both fiction and non-fiction, and a career spanning decades (I think), which allows you to experience the development in her ideas. Sorry, that was terribly expressed (I’m crazy tired), but hopefully it piques your interest!
George Eliot, Jane Austen, Mrs Gaskell.
I have not read everything from these authors, but I’m making my way through them and they haven’t disappointed me yet.
John Steinbeck, Shirley Jackson, Philip K Dick
Toni Morrison
Armistead Maupin. The entire *Tales of The City* books got me through cancer.
**Edited to say:** Tana French. Not only the Dublin Murder Squad books, but also *The Searcher* and *The Hunter.*
Iris Murdoch
Austen would be easy. Dickens maybe?
The novels of Kazuo Ishiguro
Shirley Jackson.
More recent but Becky Chambers! Her sci fi is full of cozy vibes and I find the world building really great and approachable
Colson Whitehead
Kazuo Ishiguro
There are a couple more I’m not thinking of, but those authors write in various genres and try different things, so it keeps it interesting.